You Can't Take Me
by Spirit the Fire Dragon
Summary: What really did happen on that journey to the sea with the Skandians, with their two hostages, Will and Evanlyn? How was Will reacting to the situation? This one-shot is the time where Will thought he failed.


_You can't take me, yeah_

_Got to fight another fight - I gotta run another night  
Get it out - check it out  
I'm on my way and I don't feel right _

Will was trapped.

He was standing in a group of burly Skandians, each holding massive battleaxes and wearing those ridiculous horned helmets. Evanlyn was beside him, her face impassive but her eyes betraying the fear she really felt.

Will gently took her hand and held it tight. Evanlyn flashed him a smile, but it vanished quickly. Her hand involuntarily squeezing his as the burly men started forward, leaving the campsite where they had nearly been captured by Morgarath behind, trotting quickly toward the thick forest and to the sea.

Erik saw the younger Ranger boy take the girl's hand in a comforting sort of way and how he didn't release it once they started walking.

Will was almost a lifeline to Evanlyn, in a silent way telling her she was safe and it was going to be okay. He never let her fall to the ground when the accelerated pace made them trip up on the roots churning the ground, or when a Skandian from behind prodded her in the back to make her go faster.

_I gotta get me back - I can't be beat and that's a fact  
It's okay - I'll find a way  
You ain't gonna take me down no way_

Evanlyn accidently let a small yeep escape her lips when he drew blood with the tip of his battleaxe on her back, and a large root tripping her at the same time. Will whipped around and snarled like a caged animal at the man, baring his teeth and bending down to help her stand.

Feeling the young man needed to be punished, the Skandian punched the Ranger in the gut once he stood, making the breath whoosh out of him. But instead of submitting meekly, the Ranger looked up at the Skandian still hunched over, hugging his gut and _smiled. _

The smile was not one of humor, but of determination and grim amusement, the implied meaning of it hard enough to make the sailor blink with unease. Will kept in on long enough to frighten the man, and helped Evanlyn stand completely before turning his back and lumbering along the path.

_Don't judge a thing until you know what's inside it _

_Don't' push me - I'll fight it  
Never gonna give in - never gonna give it up no_

Erik saw the Ranger's face transform from that horrible amusement to impassive anger. His face was emotionless besides the occasional whispered encouragement to his friend, but his eyes showed what he was really feeling. A blinding hatred, filled with fury that he was in this situation as well as the gleam of failure coating his eyes. His only duty now was to keep his friend alive.

Will, despite the wrenching truth that probably nobody was coming to save them, slowed down the men as much as possible by tripping and glaring and smiling evilly at the Skandians. Evanlyn caught on soon and did her share; instead of just tripping she would fall and only Will would help her up.

The Skandians were getting annoyed quickly, grumbling at their captives. Eventually one man picked up Evanlyn and threw her over his shoulder, which Will replied with a furious glare and a whispered inquiry to make sure Evanlyn was okay.

The pace picked up and Will unintentionally tripped and stumbled, and Erik felt the Ranger stumbled against his back. He turned and glared hard at the boy, leveling his face with the boy's. The party drew to a stop as Ranger and Skandian glared at each other, their faces only inches apart.

_If you can't catch a wave then you're never gonna ride it  
You can't come uninvited  
Never gonna give in - never gonna give up no  
You can't take me I'm free_

"Get out of my face," Will ground out with evident anger.

"That is not the way to speak to a skirl," Erik replied angrily, grabbing the Ranger's collar and lifting him up to his toes.

"Get out of my face, _sir,"_ the Ranger repeated mockingly, anger coloring his words. He didn't seem too worried about being chocked, even if he was standing lightly on his tiptoes. With a heavy blow, Erik let his anger power a right hook to the Ranger's face. He didn't exactly want to do this, but the Ranger was making fun of him in front of his men and he had a reputation to live up to.

Will jerked backwards and landed on the ground sideways, groaning. His cheek started to redden and puff up, but he stood and smiled thinly at Erik before getting pushed forward by the man carrying Evanlyn.

_Why did it all go wrong? - I wanna know what's going on  
What's this holding me?  
I'm not where I supposed to be_

"Are you okay, Will?" Evanlyn whispered fiercely. Will only grunted in response and after a few minutes of uneventful jogging, the Skandian put Evanlyn down with a rough order to not cause anymore trouble.

Evanlyn instantly went to Will's side, grabbing his hand and tenderly touching his swollen cheek. Will smiled comfortingly at her, silently telling her he was okay.

After another short while, Will started to lag behind, trying his best to keep up with the brisk pace. His breath was hissing out of his mouth and he stumbled a lot more than usual. Evanlyn could tell he wasn't doing this on purpose, because he really did try to keep up but his aching gut and throbbing jaw prevented him.

The Skandians noticed he was struggling with the brisk jog and Erik briskly ordered for one of his men to pick him up. Will was tossed over a thickset shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He lifted his head and saw only the marsh forest behind him and smiled grimly. These Skandians were clueless—no Ranger would be exhausted by only being punched twice and having to jog. He needed to time this exactly right…

_I gotta fight another fight  
I gotta fight will all my might  
I'm getting out , so check it out  
Ya, you're in my way  
Yeah you better watch out_

Just as the sailors turned a corner, Will brought his hands up and grabbed the Skandian's ears from behind, swinging suddenly around and ripping his legs out of his grip. He held on as the Skandian yelled with pain, jerking his head back to try and relieve the tearing force on his ears, and then Will brought his feet into the small of his back with a stunning force.

The hulking man fell to the ground as Will let go of his ears and quickly shouted at Evanlyn to follow him. Following his order without question, Evanlyn jumped over the fallen sailor and sprinted after Will. She caught up with him and grabbed his hand, letting him lead her through the marshy undergrowth.

The Skandians shouted hoarsely and ran after their captives, trying to get them before they got too far away. If a Ranger got into the forest shadows before they could catch them, there was no hope to find him again.

Will held on tight to Evanlyn's hand, pulling at it to try and make her go faster. They were so close to the undergrowth…just a few more meters…

_Oh, come on!_

_Don't judge a thing until you know what's inside it  
Don't' push me - I'll fight it  
Never gonna give in - never gonna give it up no_

Will suddenly felt Evanlyn's hand jerked out of his, and she screamed his name. Just a few steps away from the shadows, he felt his arms grabbed and yanked back roughly and he was pulled against a rock hard chest. He screamed and kicked, but to no avail: he was caught. Again.

He felt his hands being bound by rope, behind his back, before he was slung over another shoulder. The rope was very tight and rough, leaving rough red burns. He ground his teeth in anger, hearing Evanlyn yelp as she was hit somewhere to make her speed up. He had failed again.

Though, he had to admit, that was a pretty good idea. If he had been alone, he would already be on his way home. But, as he thought about it, if he was alone, he would be dead at the bottom of the gorge, smoldering along with Morgarath's bridge. Or already dead at Morgarath's hand.

Will smiled at a new thought and lifted up his head so his lips were close to the Skandian's ear. He whispered, _"You can't keep me constrained forever. Sooner or later I'll get away and the wrath of hell will be brought upon you."_

The Skandian tensed slightly and Will heard him gulp. Will smiled thinly, locks of his hair covering his face as he slumped back down, unable see a reason to fight. An opportunity would arise eventually and he would escape. All he had to do was wait and watch.

_If you can't catch a wave then you're never gonna ride it  
You can't come uninvited  
Never gonna give in - never gonna give up no  
You can't take me, I'm free!  
__Ah yeah, I'm free!_

**Whoop! How was that? As it said on my profile, a ton of one-shots are on their way. But all songfics—most for Eragon and this one (and possibly one more) for RA. I love this song—You Can't Take Me—and it's from the movie 'Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.' The songs are PERFECT for songfics (aka Sound the Bugle *wink wink*) and very beautiful. **

**Anywho, I know Will is like very angry in the story, but the song was about a captured stallion ('what's this holding me?' It's a movie about a horse, guys. He doesn't know what rope is) who was born free and is free, confused why he is being captured and what is going to happen to him. So, Will is now being compared to a wild stallion! Commence golf clap! *golf claps***

**Stay Happy,**

**Spirit**


End file.
